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Odd behavior

6-1/2 mo old Cavalier Bentley has been with us now 2-1/2 weeks, still with breeder when we got him and was not a house dog. potty training was perfect until tonight. i waited too long to take him out. He has a very soft 50x60 inch throw I bought for him which he loves. He scratched and made a nest like circle out of it, then peed on it tonight. I told him no and took him outside then washed the blanket so it doesnt have a pee smell on it. he has never gone in the house before so I know this was my negligence and he has gone potty outside several times since. What I was wondering was why he made a nest out of his blanket before he squatted on it? hoping that was an isolated incident.

Don't worry, it's normal. It's just a doggy instinct to mark his sleeping area as his own, and since he's maturing these instincts are kicking in. If you notice him getting over excited with the nesting thing again in the future, just give him a little warning to calm him down. He'll learn not to get to the peeing stage.

Sammy has done that two or three times over the years with his beds. I remember getting him a new orthopedic dog bed years ago to replace an old cushion he loved. When it was bed time and he noticed his cushion had been replaced, he did the whole nesting dance and then peed on it (and ran away after because he knew I'd be annoyed). I thought it was a protest against the bed, but the next night (after I had washed it) he slept on it happily.

Once I think it was a protest. I was delayed at work and he had got frustrated waiting. I found his bed all 'nested' and peed on. I didn't blame him, poor thing - he probably also needed to pee and his bed was the only place that was 'his' to pee on.

He does that nesting thing with cushions all the time, but I stop him if I see him getting too excited.

Agree with Laura here -- this is pretty normal. Most dogs are not really reliably housetrained til about a year old and will tend to have accidents... but also, he's a male and at the age where his hormones are starting to kick in. You will need to start watching for marking behaviours -- it's an ongoing task .

I wouldn't worry about it, accidents happen after all. We have NO carpet in out living area, I don't even have little throw rugs because when Fletcher was little he used to eat fabric. Honestly, I do not miss them so I never put them back out after Fletcher got over his issue. It just works for me. However, when it rains for days my dog is prone to have at least one potty "accident" in the house, I know it sucks but.... during those rainy days we have to be very careful to put away the throw blankets we use on our sofa because Fletcher seems to prefer to pull one onto the floor and pee in it I do my best to avoid accidents but he simply will NOT go out alone in the rain- my pampered dog will only potty if I take him out on a leash, oh and he's afraid of umbrellas.

Melissa
"If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life."
-Roger Caras

Thanks for the comments . I was playing with him and he was super excited so that was probably another reason. A while later he whined to go out and did his business in the grass, Good Dog !!
I had poodles for years and Bentley is so dofferent. My poodles were alot more catlike and did not display things like scratching the ground, chewing on everything, sniffing everything in the yard. I wish the breeder had neutered him already but taking care of that this week.
My parrot is extremely jealous of the dog so I have to be EXTREMELY careful they are never together. I was told that Cavaliers will kill a parrot, even a large one. After all, they are Bird Dogs. Something i stupidly did not consider when I got the dog. I thought the hunting instinct had been bred out of them. Boy was I wrong. LOL.

Thanks for the comments . I was playing with him and he was super excited so that was probably another reason. A while later he whined to go out and did his business in the grass, Good Dog !!
I had poodles for years and Bentley is so dofferent. My poodles were alot more catlike and did not display things like scratching the ground, chewing on everything, sniffing everything in the yard. I wish the breeder had neutered him already but taking care of that this week.
My parrot is extremely jealous of the dog so I have to be EXTREMELY careful they are never together. I was told that Cavaliers will kill a parrot, even a large one. After all, they are Bird Dogs. Something i stupidly did not consider when I got the dog. I thought the hunting instinct had been bred out of them. Boy was I wrong. LOL.

Really! I thought all cavaliers are great with household pets. My cavalier LOVES my bird and is so good with him. She tries to play with him but he'll just fly away because she'll accidentally step on his tail. She loves to chase the birds outside though, but she knows mine is not to be messed with or chased and is great with him.

The nesting is quite normal, and for a young dog so is "peeing" on the bed. I have two Japanese Chin who nest every night with their blankets. Its a ritual of fixing the blanket "just so" and spinning in a circle until they are happy with the way things are. only then will they go to bed.

Bosco, my CKC, used to nest like that but doesn't anymore. However, as a young pup he used to pee in his bed or on the bedding in the crate. I think its a comfort and instinctual thing -- my home, my bed, my smell. This happened a few times. I don't think it was being over-excited, or not beign able to hold it, I think it is an instinctive response. I had to throw out a few pillows and blankets due to this behavior, but the good news is that it stopped on its own, by 1 year. If you give Bentley that blanket back, he is very likely to pee on it again.